Wesley Chapel:

The race for luxury car buyers in Wesley Chapel has a new entrant. BMW plans to open a showroom at State Road 56 and Mansfield Boulevard in the Wiregrass Ranch development.

Preliminary plans filed with Pasco County by Spring Engineering Inc. show a 32,578-square-foot BMW sales and service center proposed for the southeast corner of the SR 56/Mansfield intersection. That puts it across the street and east of the Audi Wesley Chapel dealership that had its grand opening seven months ago.

The property is owned by Solly Branch Holdings Inc., a corporate entity whose officers include J.D. Porter and his sister, Quinn, A car dealership likely would need just a portion of the 39-acre parcel at the intersection. The similarly sized Audi dealership sits on 5.4 acres

BMW will be the fourth luxury car dealership in Wesley Chapel. Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi all have opened since 2015.

“I think they’ve seen the success of Wiregrass and of Wesley Chapel as a whole,’’ said J.D. Porter. whose family is developing its former ranch south of State Road 54 and east of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

“It definitely speaks to our economy,’’ said Hope Allen, president and CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber. “These dealerships don’t just pop up anywhere. It shows that our economy is strong and that we’re a regional pull.’’

As the real estate market continues to move down the road to a complete recovery, we see home values and home sales increasing while distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) continue to fall to their lowest points in years. There is no doubt that the housing market will continue to strengthen throughout 2018.

However, there is one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: a lack of housing inventory!

Here’s what a few industry experts have to say about the current inventory crisis:

“Inventory coming onto the market during this year’s spring buying season…was not even close to being enough to satisfy demand, that is why home prices keep outpacing incomes and listings are going under contract in less than a month – and much faster – in many parts of the country.”

“While this spring’s sudden rise in mortgage rates [took] up a good chunk of the conversation, it’s the stubbornly low inventory levels in much of the country that are preventing sales from really taking off like they should… Most markets simply need a lot more new and existing supply to cool price growth and give buyers enough choices.”

“This seasonal inventory jump wasn’t enough to offset the historical year-over-year downward trend that has continued over 14 consecutive quarters…Despite the second-quarter gain, inventory was down 5.3% from a year ago. Still, this represents an easing of the double-digit drops we’ve been seeing since the second quarter of 2017.”

Bottom Line

If you are thinking about selling, now may be the time. Demand for your house will be strongest while there is still very little competition which could lead to a quick sale for a great price.

Sell:

Halfway through the year, Tampa Bay’s real estate market remains stuck on the same sad song: too many buyers for too few houses.

Sales of single-family homes in Pinellas County plunged more than 12 percent in June compared to the same month a year ago and were essentially flat in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. That served to push prices up more than 6 percent in all three counties.

“We’re not seeing sales growth happen and that has to do with the fact there are not enough homes for sale so prices are rising rapidly and causing buyers to hold back,” Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com, said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times.

In Pasco, prices shot up 9.4 percent to a median of $222,000. Pinellas had a 7.2 percent gain, to a median of $266,375 while prices rose 6.5 percent in Hillsborough to a median of $261,000. Figures for Hernando were not immediately available.

Nationally as well as locally, the scant supply of available homes is largely due to a vicious cycle, Hale says. There are so few homes on the market because people who otherwise might sell are afraid they won’t be able to find a new place to live because there are so few homes on the market.

Home Loans

Mortgage rates were once again mostly flat over the past week, inching backward slightly.

Manufacturing output and consumer spending showed improvements, but construction activity was a disappointment. This meant there was no driving force to move mortgage rates in any meaningful way, which has been the theme in the last two months. That’s good news for price sensitive home shoppers, given that this stability in borrowing costs allows them a little extra time to find the right home.

Unfortunately, don’t expect much relief from the tight inventory conditions plaguing many markets. As seen again last month, new home construction is not picking up to meet demand, and as a result, home prices are still rising at double the pace of income growth.

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Doug, Annette & Dale Bohannon

Team Bohannon Real Estate Experts

Keller Williams Tampa Properties
Tampa, Florida

(813) 979-4963

If you're looking for a trusted partner who exceeds expectations, reduces stress, fulfills promises, and is on top of all the details, consider Tampa's Top Real Estate Team: Doug, Annette and Dale Bohannon when buying or selling your home, call us today at 813-979-4963